The other day, we introduced Isabella Stefanelli.
This time, we will introduce one of these new products, a coat called "Allen."
Isabella Stefanelli
Allen
fabric _ No.6
material _ LINEN,CASHMERE,WOOL,COTTON & INSERT (HAND WOVEN)
buttons _ COROZO BURNED
size _ 2 (equivalent to size S)
*Sold out
Here.
A coat named "Allen."
All Isabella Stefanelli clothes are designed by Isabella, who imagines what real people in the past would have worn when they were alive.
The clothes featured in Isabella Stefanelli are designs created by Isabella herself by imagining the outfit of someone whose lifestyle she sympathizes with, based on that person's way of thinking, actions, and the legacy they have left to the present.
The coat I'd like to introduce today is
American poet who lived from 1926 to 1997. The answer is "Allen Ginsberg."
In this collection, Isabella Stefanelli also offered a wide variety of "hand-woven" fabrics to choose from.
All of them are numbered, and the "Allen" I'm introducing today was ordered using fabric numbered No. 6.
Also, this time around, the brand is introducing something different from the "hand-woven fabrics" that have appeared in previous collections.
This means that Isabella herself hand-weaves the fabric for the finished "product."
Isabella Stefanelli carries out every step of the clothing making process herself, using her incredible skill and sense.
Until now, Isabella has been the one to design and engineer the hand-woven fabrics, as well as weave the hand-woven fabric samples.
In addition, the production process involved a global company called Bristol Weaving Mill in the UK hand-weaving the products based on the "hand-woven fabric samples" completed by Isabella.
However, due to the extremely complex fabric design, hand-weaving production at Bristol Weaving Mill became increasingly difficult.
Therefore, for the completed hand-woven clothes this time, Isabella herself designed and planned the fabric as well as wove it.
The above are the changes to handwoven fabric.
If production continued at Bristol Weaving Mill as usual, a certain level of productivity could be ensured, even with the extremely time-consuming process of "hand weaving."
However, this was deemed too high a hurdle by the weaver who was commissioned to carry out mass production.
If we were to continue "business as usual," we would likely move towards simplifying handwoven fabrics.
However, the method Isabella Stefanelli chose to use was to "weave it herself".
In other words, Isabella Stefanelli has moved into a new realm of clothing design.
I think that brands, like us, are forced to make various choices in the course of their operations, but Isabella Stefanelli did not take the easy path .
A more difficult choice.
It took time, effort and mental strength, but I think you could say that I chose the path that would result in something intense.
Are you able to make such choices as you go about your work?
For me, it's all about Isabella Stefanelli's clothing design, her way of life, how she spends her days, her way of thinking, and her way of looking at things.
I believe that these clothes make you think about such "values" and "outlook on life," and by so doing, teach and convey something to you.
An oil-soaked tag is attached to the inside of the chest.
Here, as you can see, the handwoven fabrics from this collection include:
"DESIGNED & WOVEN BY Isabella Stefanelli"
It is written as follows.
It's already impressive.
Now, let me introduce you to this hand-woven fabric.
This time, I ordered "No.6".
I think this is the most artistic piece in the collection.
But what's amazing is that it never feels excessive when worn.
I'm sure you'll be able to experience this for yourself if you try it on.
Another distinctive feature, as always, is that the hand-woven fabric is used horizontally.
The warp threads (which run horizontally when made into clothing) are two-ply grey linen threads.
In contrast,
The weft threads (which run vertically when the garment is made) are made of cashmere, wool, cotton, or linen.
In addition, in past collections, "hand-woven fabric was torn and inserted into the weft as it was being woven."
These are written as "Inserts," and as far as I can count, the number for this "Allen" is 396.
There may be over 400 of them, but that many archive fabrics are woven together into one coat.
Hand-woven fabric comes in a variety of colors, sizes, thicknesses, and spacing that vary depending on the area.
You can see that each piece is held down and woven with grey linen warp threads.
However, this fabric is not just that...
The material and color of the base thread woven into the weft thread varies depending on the location.
So when viewed from a distance, the whole thing looks like a wide striped fabric with varying spacing.
But not only that...
Even within the same color range, the "fabric structure" changes.
In addition, "the fabric structure is connected beyond the boundaries of the stripe colors."
But then, "the organization changed."
Just at a glance, it doesn't make any sense at all.
The base is a twill weave fabric design, which is a very complex and sophisticated fabric.
Do you understand?
Starting from the center, the left side is dark navy and the right side is light navy, but the tissue is connected across the color boundaries.
But that's up to this point.
It takes a really long time to understand how it feels when you put it on, but the impression it makes when you put it on is amazing.
I think it's a fabric that you wouldn't believe was designed by a human .
This is because I have heard that the things that humans are able to create inevitably end up being simple things that follow certain rules.
Of course, this Isabella Stefanelli fabric also has a pattern.
However, when you look at the whole outfit,
- Color change
・Organizational changes
・Hand-woven archive fabric (Insert)
These three elements cross over and become one, creating a fabric with a character that is not easily understood.
In order to write this blog and to talk to customers who visit the store, I had wanted to look at various parts of the fabric and analyze it, but it took me several days to analyze just one piece.
It's hard to find a fabric like that.
What's more, the fabric was woven by a "designer".
Isn't that crazy?
This is the power of Isabella Stefanelli.
However, when I visited Isabella's atelier a year and a half ago and saw how she designs the fabric, she said to me:
"I don't know why the dough turns out like this."
This was the result of him being a "real designer" and finding it difficult to convey his ideas to me in words, so he communicated with me through the "finished product itself."
We start developing the fabric and "design" sample fabrics.
Along the way, Isabella will be immersed in using her 45-plus years of experience and sense in clothing design, as well as the skills she has developed to date, as she brings what's in her head to life with her hands, and then creates the piece by confirming it with her own eyes.
However, of course, because it is such a refined fabric, he takes notes on the fabric design, from the sample fabric design stage onwards, on the construction and structure of the fabric so that he can reproduce it himself when it is time for actual production, and sometimes he even films the process himself to record it as a video.
The result is undoubtedly Isabella Stefanelli's hand-woven fabrics, of unparalleled quality and unique in the world.
Such astonishing complexity, depth, and aura.
Please come and see the real thing and be amazed.
"Allen" has a single collar attached to the neck.
Isabella Stefanelli's collars are made from a single piece of fabric, without any lining or interlining.
There is no seam at the edge of the collar because there is no overlap in the fabric. The outer circumference of the collar uses the edge of the fabric as is, and the cut parts are hand-sewn with a lock stitching process, using the thread that makes up the hand-woven fabric as the sewing thread .
As mentioned above, Isabella Stefanelli basically uses the fabric as is , so she uses it horizontally.
The edges of the fabric at the front seam of the front body are cut, and then, like the collar, are sewn with the same thread used to weave the fabric to prevent fraying.
The process of "sewing with the thread that weaves the fabric" is an ultra-special feature that I have never seen anywhere else except from Isabella Stefanelli.
I guess a physical requirement is that "you weave the fabric yourself, so you own the thread."
However, by doing this, the hand-sewn edges of the fabric blend in with the fabric itself and become completely invisible.
From the outside, it looks just like the fabric.
This is a detail that could only be achieved by Isabella Stefanelli, and what's more, it produces a very beautiful finished product.
The hem is made from the edge of the fabric that has been used horizontally.
The length of an "Allen" coat is the same as the width of the hand-woven fabric.
The sleeves are cut horizontally, just like the body.
The edge of the fabric also comes around the cuffs.
The No.6 fabric has a small amount of archive rip-woven insert fabric peeking out from the cuffs.
This one is also really cool in real life.
There are a total of three buttons on the front.
Isabella Stefanelli, roasted and charred corozo buttons.
The three buttons sewn on by hand are each scorched in a different way.
Additionally, the button sewing thread used to sew these buttons on is also made from navy wool with multiple colors used as the weft thread to weave the fabric.
So even the buttons have a completely different look than normal.
It's so cool it's unbelievable.
And the buttonholes are also very special.
It pushes open the gaps in the loosely-woven fabric, "widening the gaps."
Do not cut any holes in the dough, use it as is.
This is "Isabella Stefanelli's buttonhole."
However, to prevent the widened hole from closing, it appears that the wool thread used to attach buttons and sew the edges of the fabric is used to sew and secure the hole.
"A miracle."
A pocket with a kneading ball design is located at the waist of the front body.
The shape of Isabella Stefanelli's pocket openings is often, as shown in this photo, gently curved at the top and sharply curved at the bottom, which also seems to be an intentional detail.
The pockets on the kneading balls, which have double-welted edges, are always rounded like this and are firmly fixed in that shape.
This is probably to allow you to use your pockets without having to look at them, and to make it easier to put your hands and things in and out.
Another amazing feature is that the opening of the pocket hardly changes even when you put something in it.
I've introduced this before, but despite how it looks, it's a very sturdy pocket.
This is a close-up photo of the pocket opening. Because the same thread that makes up the main fabric is used for sewing, it blends in perfectly and it is completely invisible where it has been sewn.
I will post a photo of the back later, but by "stitching with the fabric's own thread" in this way, the sewing thread becomes invisible, but when you look at it, it feels more like the details are created and then woven together into a single piece, rather than being sewn .
It's not a word I use often, but the more I see it, the more I think it represents the "ultimate" sewing specification .
behind.
The "Allen" design has a classic center vent and a seam at the center of the back.
As mentioned above, a collar is usually made up of three parts: outer fabric + interlining + outer fabric, but Isabella Stefanelli makes it from just a single piece of fabric.
However, the collar still does not succumb to gravity when worn.
The back collar in particular is amazing. It stands up incredibly nicely around the neck.
You can fully experience the level of Isabella Stefanelli's work through the way you look and feel when wearing it.
And the sleeves.
This is a photo of the right sleeve seen from the front.
Here's a photo of the right sleeve from the back.
Can you tell from the photo?
This "Allen" is different from other Isabella Stefanelli clothes in that it has a "two-sleeve" design.
Up until now, all the clothes we have sold in our store have been "one-piece sleeve" garments made from a single piece of fabric shaped into a tube.
Normally, in a one-sleeve design, the sleeve falls straight down, but the "Isabelle Stefanelli one-sleeve" design creates an amazing shape due to the way the arms are cut.
The "Allen" model features sleeves that are wider and have a stronger curve in the front than Isabella Stefanelli's previous designs.
However, it still looks on a different level to "normal two-sleeve" clothing, with smaller armholes and a strongly rounded shape towards the elbow.
I will post a photo of me wearing it later, so please take a look.
I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo, but even when it's on a hanger, the sleeves are curved sharply in the front and quite voluminous.
This is something very unique to "Allen".
And the back.
"All-flat stitching" is a unique and highly technical technique unique to Isabella Stefanelli.
There is no lining whatsoever, so no matter how you look at it, the back appears very neat.
Moreover, the initial joinery, called "base stitching," is done with a sewing machine, and then the entire piece is sewn flat by hand, an extremely advanced technique.
The strength of a sewing machine and the precision and freedom of hand sewing.
The combination of these two elements results in a garment that is strong, extremely durable, and perfectly tailored in every way.
This part is also sewn using the same thread as the fabric, so the "stitching thread" is not visible.
All you see are bulges in the seams that look like blood vessels.
This method really works.
No matter how closely I look, I can't see which thread is sewing it.
As I said before, it might be better to say that this is "woven" rather than "sewn." Since the fabric and the sewing thread are the same.
This is seriously bad.
No matter how used I am, it must have taken so much time just to get around my neck...
The amount of "irregular" detailing on the shoulders and sleeves is also carefully done by hand sewing.
When you look at it like this, no matter which side is the front or which side is the back, no matter where you look in the world, it's all top-notch.
It's made to an incredible level and quality.
Made from handwoven fabrics that she designed and wove herself, Isabella Stefanelli is in a class of her own.
Something amazing has been born into the world.
And then wear it.
Basically, the base is dark, with gray (warp thread) and a different tone of navy (weft thread) taking up most of the surface area.
There are a number of "Inserts" available there.
I am 167cm tall and weigh 52kg, and I wear the shirt with the sleeves folded once, but if I don't fold them, the sleeves are too long for me.
That being said, from my experience so far, I think the size balance is suitable for a wide range of people.
It might be okay for people up to 170cm tall. It depends on your build.
Isabella Stefanelli clothing has a wide body width, so I think anyone with a standard body type will be able to experience the "Isabella Stefanelli form."
The "swaying" that is unique to hand-woven fabric and swaying in the wind.
Looking at it this way, the width of the body doesn't seem as generous as Virginia's, but I think this one has more overall volume.
Also, as is unique to two-piece sleeves, the armholes are large and the shape of the arms becomes sharper towards the cuffs.
The coat is also perfectly sculpted.
The fabric is made from thick threads that can only be achieved by hand weaving, and the pattern is designed by Isabella Stefanelli.
This matching, form and mood are at an ultra level.
It has two-panel sleeves that are more voluminous than Virginia, but the armholes are designed to appear smaller, with the sleeves gently flaring out from there.
With clothes like this, the world is extremely limited, physically and in terms of the number of people who can actually get their hands on them, but I think they're really great.
Isabella Stefanelli's Isabella has dedicated most of her life to creating products.
And now, it has evolved and deepened even further.
There is something that anyone who sees it or picks it up will definitely feel.
That's Isabella Stefanelli.
Please take a look.